The Serapion Brethren, Vol. II

By E T a Hoffmann

An elegant stranger enters Berlin in 1551, and unease gathers around him: is he merely deceptive, or touched by witchcraft and diabolical influence? From this disturbing uncertainty emerges a historical tale that moves through public streets, households and communal ceremonies, mingling supernatural suggestion with grotesque comedy and social satire. Yet the darkest threat lies not only in the uncanny, but in the human machinery of suspicion, torture and coerced confession. Around such stories, Lothair, Theodore and Ottmar reunite in a public garden to debate storytelling, old chronicles, illness, imagination and supernatural subjects. Their conversations create a frame in which each narrative can test the boundary between fanciful invention and lived consequence. Gamblers, wooers, unsettling visitors and strange phenomena pass through tales shaped by deception and fear, while shifts in tone allow the collection to move from playful absurdity to gothic menace without losing sight of social persecution. The collection's distinctive tension comes from placing impossible or ambiguous events beside brutally realistic responses to them. Superstition may produce marvels, but it also licenses accusation; imagination may enlarge the world, but fear can turn neighbours and institutions into agents of cruelty. These supernatural short stories repeatedly ask how tales are believed, how appearances mislead and how readily a community can transform uncertainty into punishment. This book was out of print for decades and is now republished by Alpha Editions. It has been restored for today's and future generations. This edition is not just a reprint - it's a collector's item and a cultural treasure.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 9309332905
• ISBN13: 9789309332906
• Release Date: January 2027
• Publisher: Alpha Edition
• Length: 364 Pages
• Weight: 1.08 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.0" x 0.8" x 6.0"